Discussion #1: Introduction What is the significance of the name “Rue”? A: Rue is a herb that produces a small yellow flower. It is used for some medical purposes. The word "rue" means regret bitterly, to feel sorrow over, to repent of. I think that Rue was named "rue" because her parents felt sorry for bringing her into such a cruel world at the time and they regret it a lot after what happened to Rue. When Rue dies, Katniss is surprised since they have been in a close relationship for few years and it impacted Katniss quite a lot.
Why do you think that young children had to participate in the annual Hunger Games? A: I think that young children had to participate in the annual Hunger Games because they wanted to pass fear on to the other districts by using young children killing each other. It may sound very crucial for twelve year old boy and girl killing each other, but it was one of the district’s strategy to show fear to the others.
Who is Katniss and what is her significance in the story?
Katniss is the protagonist of the novel and the novel shows the process that she goes through in the Hunger Games. She also shows how friendship is extremely important relationship by sacrificing or protecting her friends and families.
Discussion #2: Before the game Before the Games start, Peeta tells Katinss that she wants to die as myself. Why do you think she said that? A: In my opinion, Peeta said that because she wants to die as “Peeta”, not like a monster. She didn’t want the districts to take her body and change her into a monster. I think Peeta truly wanted to die by preserving her identity.
What did you think about the purpose of the Hunger Games? A: I think that the purpose of the Hunger Games is another form of entertainment. Since people had to watch the fight, they were enjoying people killing each other. However, I think that its also extremely harsh and crucial for children to participate in the Hunger Games because they had to kill one another in order to survive.
How do you think the importance of family work throughout the novel? A: The characters are living in harsh environment everyday. We can see how families get close to each other during the reaping days. When the main character Katniss volunteered to participate in the Hunger Game instead of her younger sister, it strongly emphasized the importance of the family.
Discussion #3: During the game What is the significance of the mockingjay that also appears on the book cover? A: Katniss gets the mockingjay pin from Madge and tells her to wear it during the Hunger Games. During the Hunger Games, Katniss notices that the mockingjays make a similar call when hovercraft are about to appear to pick up dead tributes. Then she uses the mockingjay pin to send signals to Rue. When Katinss signs to Rue as she dies, she notices that the mockingjays are referred as take up song.
Why do you think Katniss sang this song in chapter 18? What might have been the purpose for this song? A: In my opinion, I think Katniss sang this song to reminisce about her past. She says “Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes... Here it’s safe, here it’s warm.” The first part of the song seems to sound gloomy and spooky, but I can assume that she loved someone in the past. Therefore, she wanted to bring back her past memory by singing this song.
What did you think about Haymitch? What is the significance of Haymitch A: Haymitch is perhaps not the most likable character that appeared in the novel so far. However, he is one of the two winners from District 12. I do not think that he is crazy, because he was clearly a winner of “The Hunger Games”, if he was insane he most likely would not have won the game. However I believe that Haymitch is frequently drinking alcohol to forget about something that he does no wish to remember. But his over usage of alcohol made him look almost insane by the other people.
Discussion #4: Ending the game Why do you think the author ended the story leaving potential retaliation from the Capitol? A: I think the author left off the story with the possibility of a retaliation from the Capitol because the author wanted to continue the story. It might seem that everything was fine after the end of the Games, however since Katniss and Peeta decided to play the final suicide card right before the end they effectively humiliated the Capitol and its rulers. This opens the possibility of future sequels.
If you were Katniss, who would you choose? Gale or Peeta? A: In my opinion, since Gale spent lots of time hunting and fighting together, I would’ve chosen Gale because she possessed romantic feelings toward him at the beginning. In case of Peeta, he admits his love to Katniss, but Katniss feelings toward Peeta seemed to be unclear.
Do you think Hunger Games was morally wrong at the first place? A: I believe that the Hunger Games should’ve not happened in the first place because teaching children how to kill another person is not right. Moreover, it made the people, participating the game, go insane.
Chapter Study Questions
Discussion #1: Introduction
What is the significance of the name “Rue”?
A: Rue is a herb that produces a small yellow flower. It is used for some medical purposes. The word "rue" means regret bitterly, to feel sorrow over, to repent of. I think that Rue was named "rue" because her parents felt sorry for bringing her into such a cruel world at the time and they regret it a lot after what happened to Rue. When Rue dies, Katniss is surprised since they have been in a close relationship for few years and it impacted Katniss quite a lot.
Why do you think that young children had to participate in the annual Hunger Games?
A: I think that young children had to participate in the annual Hunger Games because they wanted to pass fear on to the other districts by using young children killing each other. It may sound very crucial for twelve year old boy and girl killing each other, but it was one of the district’s strategy to show fear to the others.
Who is Katniss and what is her significance in the story?
Katniss is the protagonist of the novel and the novel shows the process that she goes through in the Hunger Games. She also shows how friendship is extremely important relationship by sacrificing or protecting her friends and families.
Discussion #2: Before the game
Before the Games start, Peeta tells Katinss that she wants to die as myself. Why do you think she said that?
A: In my opinion, Peeta said that because she wants to die as “Peeta”, not like a monster. She didn’t want the districts to take her body and change her into a monster. I think Peeta truly wanted to die by preserving her identity.
What did you think about the purpose of the Hunger Games?
A: I think that the purpose of the Hunger Games is another form of entertainment. Since people had to watch the fight, they were enjoying people killing each other. However, I think that its also extremely harsh and crucial for children to participate in the Hunger Games because they had to kill one another in order to survive.
How do you think the importance of family work throughout the novel?
A: The characters are living in harsh environment everyday. We can see how families get close to each other during the reaping days. When the main character Katniss volunteered to participate in the Hunger Game instead of her younger sister, it strongly emphasized the importance of the family.
Discussion #3: During the game
What is the significance of the mockingjay that also appears on the book cover?
A: Katniss gets the mockingjay pin from Madge and tells her to wear it during the Hunger Games. During the Hunger Games, Katniss notices that the mockingjays make a similar call when hovercraft are about to appear to pick up dead tributes. Then she uses the mockingjay pin to send signals to Rue. When Katinss signs to Rue as she dies, she notices that the mockingjays are referred as take up song.
Why do you think Katniss sang this song in chapter 18? What might have been the purpose for this song?
A: In my opinion, I think Katniss sang this song to reminisce about her past. She says “Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes... Here it’s safe, here it’s warm.” The first part of the song seems to sound gloomy and spooky, but I can assume that she loved someone in the past. Therefore, she wanted to bring back her past memory by singing this song.
What did you think about Haymitch? What is the significance of Haymitch
A: Haymitch is perhaps not the most likable character that appeared in the novel so far. However, he is one of the two winners from District 12. I do not think that he is crazy, because he was clearly a winner of “The Hunger Games”, if he was insane he most likely would not have won the game. However I believe that Haymitch is frequently drinking alcohol to forget about something that he does no wish to remember. But his over usage of alcohol made him look almost insane by the other people.
Discussion #4: Ending the game
Why do you think the author ended the story leaving potential retaliation from the Capitol?
A: I think the author left off the story with the possibility of a retaliation from the Capitol because the author wanted to continue the story. It might seem that everything was fine after the end of the Games, however since Katniss and Peeta decided to play the final suicide card right before the end they effectively humiliated the Capitol and its rulers. This opens the possibility of future sequels.
If you were Katniss, who would you choose? Gale or Peeta?
A: In my opinion, since Gale spent lots of time hunting and fighting together, I would’ve chosen Gale because she possessed romantic feelings toward him at the beginning. In case of Peeta, he admits his love to Katniss, but Katniss feelings toward Peeta seemed to be unclear.
Do you think Hunger Games was morally wrong at the first place?
A: I believe that the Hunger Games should’ve not happened in the first place because teaching children how to kill another person is not right. Moreover, it made the people, participating the game, go insane.